America Is Sentencing Way Too Many People To Die In Prison

The number of prisoners serving life sentences without the possibility of parole has shot up by about 22% since 2008,according to a new reportfrom The Sentencing Project.

And since 1984, the number of prisoners serving life sentences has quadrupled despite a steady decline in crime rates. A surprising number of these prisoners haven’t even committed a violent crime — 10,000 of those serving life sentences have been convicted of nonviolent offenses.

“There are certainly people who should remain in prison for their entire lives,” Ashley Nellis, the author of the report, told The Daily Beast. “But we think that everyone at least deserves a second look. The problem with this group is they’re never given the chance to show that they deserve it.”

The report states that while life sentences used to be reserved for the most severe crimes, those convicted of assault, robbery, kidnapping, sexual assault, and drug crimes can now receive life sentences.